Thanks, Mike... I'll give them a try.

TomG

Backup, the process that is, is a hangover from the old DOS days. Backup is a DOS command. A problem with backup: It is encoded in a "backup format" that cannot be viewed so one never knows if the backup was good and it can only be used by replacing your original file. Also backup is slow and requires a third party program.

Today we have packed writers line Nero's InCD (free with Nero) which allows you to "COPY" (Windows copy using Windows Explorer) you files to a DVD or second HD. These files can be opened and used as well as stored in case of a mishap with the original.

Mike Stevens

I have to disagree with the recommendation to use a packet writer. There are many of these -- from Pinnacle, Roxio, Nero, and even one built into Windows XP -- but they are not very reliable. In addition, backup programs provide compression which can be very important not only in reducing the amount of media required to store your backups, but can also speed up the backup process (because modern CPUs can compress almost instantly, whereas the write time to the media is still relatively slow). Good backup software usually has various types of redundancy built in so that if the media fails, you can still recover most, if not all, of the original file. Backup programs provide timed backup, and other methods to help you backup on a regular schedule (Second Copy, which was already mentioned, does this continuously in the background). Backup programs are also designed to do "incremental" and "differential" backups so that you can backup only the few files that have changed since the last backup instead of having to do everything.

You can also get backup programs that will do an "image" backup of your dirve. These are essential in a modern XP computer, because you cannot merely copy the files on your C: drive to another media, and then when your disk fails, copy them back to the new hard drive. The ONLY solution to this is a disk image program.

Now, having said all this, if your primary goal is to backup just your media files, then I actually will agree wholeheartedly with the idea of simply copying them to another media. I would still recommend avoiding packet writing software, not only for the reasons stated, but also because DVD is not big enough to hold many video files. Instead, get a few Firewire hard drives, or better yet, some Firewire enclosures and then some cheap hard drives that you buy onsale and then stick into the enclosure. You can easily get 120 Gbyte drives for $60 if you shop around. That's $0.50/Gbyte. A good name-brand blank DVD+-R is about $2 for 4 Gbytes, which comes out to almost exactly the same cost.

Thanks John....

Yes, I am looking for a "backup" program that will backup key video folders, registry, outlook, address book, and in fact, all my important data files. And I really want to do this via mirroring or incrementally. Now if I can only get some "brand name" suggestions that is:

1. Easy to use
2. Able to run on a schedule and unattended (except for loading a DVD)
3. Will be able to backup a single file or the whole drive
4. Do backup/restore/verification/recovery
5. Extremely reliable

I'll be a happy camper. With all the time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears we have in our video systems, I would hope everyone would have a good backup plan. Maybe I need a file server?

TomG

Yes, I am looking for a "backup" program that will backup key video folders, registry, outlook, address book, and in fact, all my important data files.

These are two different things. The backup for your C: drive (Program FIles and Windows directory) requires an image backup; the other requires a file backup.

Symantec now owns two image backup programs (Ghost and Driveimage, I think). NTI has a combo package that has both the backup and image backup (I use this, but it is far from perfect). There is also a program that has been owned by about six different companies that is now distributed by both Stomp and Sonic called Backup MyPC (this started out as Backup Exec with Seagate Software and then Veritas). Dantz also has a program.

I think these are the main options from which to choose.